05/08/2026
𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟯-𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗱!! 🙈
I have just watched a sales advert for a horse, which prompted me to write this post! 🥴
The horse is essentially being advertised as a very quiet, very slow-going type, who is happiest taking life at a very leisurely pace. Having watched the sales video though, I see something very different! 😬😵💫
To my trained eye, the horse appears lame on multiple limbs. His movement is short, restricted and laboured. He looks extremely tense through the body and despite being asked to do very little work in the video, he is noticeably huffing and puffing.
Then underneath the ad, all the comments are positive 🫣
“He’s fabulous.”
“Beautiful horse.”
“How much?”
“What a lovely boy.”
And, being truthful, I find it quite astonishing! 😳🫣 ... But then again, maybe I shouldn’t! 😔
Research suggests that more than 47% of sport horses in normal work may be lame, with that lameness going unrecognised by their owners or trainers.
When you consider that, then maybe a comment section full of people admiring a horse whose movement, to my eye, is very clearly abnormal, shouldn’t be surprising at all! 🤷♀️
I also think that it raises a much bigger welfare issue. ... How many horses are being described as lazy, slow, reluctant, lacking impulsion, or on the opposite end of things ~ difficult, cold-backed, or “that’s just how he moves”, when what we are actually looking at is musculoskeletal discomfort? 🙈😔
Lameness recognition is not just about being able to pick out the lame leg. Sometimes the first, and most important skill, is recognising that the horse in front of you is not moving comfortably, or in any way normally at all!
And it struck me just how common it is that significant gait abnormalities are being missed when a horse isn't obviously hopping lame on one leg! 😢
I don't personally believe there is such a thing as a lazy horse. There is likely to be good reason a horse like this is reluctant to go forward. That reason may not always be pain, but surely our first response should be to ask "why", rather than to simply conclude that the horse is lazy.
Pain, weakness, fatigue, poor balance, lack of fitness, fear, confusion, poor saddle and tack fit and learned behaviour can all look like a reluctance to go forward.
And, sometimes what gets described as a lovely, quiet “plod” may actually be a horse that finds movement very physically difficult.
Before we label the horse, we need to question such behaviour. Lameness does not always present as a dramatic head nod, or a horse barely able to weight-bear. When more than one limb is involved, particularly with bilateral or multilimb problems, the picture can be much less obvious. Instead of seeing one clearly lame leg, you might see a horse that is generally short-striding, stiff, guarded, reluctant to go forward or simply moving as though everything is really hard work! ... And because there isn't one leg screaming “THIS ONE”, the movement is inclined to be interpreted as the horse being lazy, quiet, a plod, slow or just “that type”.
That is why I think we need to stop judging soundness by asking "which leg is lame?” The important question is "does this horse move like a comfortable horse?” In the horse I watched today, my answer would unfortunately be a big fat NO! 😢
Obviously, nobody can diagnose the cause of lameness from a sales video. A proper veterinary examination would be required for that. But we absolutely can recognise abnormal movement, tension, restricted gait and signs that warrant further investigation.
Maybe it's time that basic lameness and pain recognition should be a compulsory part of learning to care for horses.
.. Always ask yourself WHY!! ❤️🐎❤️
